Monday, October 5, 2009

Once my friend Cath came to visit me in PA (round 1, before Sammie) and laughed at me because I referred to everyone there as "my favorite!" (I'll be honest. It was hard not to in the Hershey Ward...) Well, I think I'm doing that with recipes tonight. This is also a new favorite. It's the first new dish that I tried out this summer once we got to Texas. We both loved it! Sammie requests it all the time now. The only change we've made is to use Sammie's sauce instead of bottled sauce. Which reminds me. I'll have him post the instructions...Sausage Stuffed Manicotti

This is my new favorite! It's SO good. I made it one night in PA when we were craving good Mexican Food. (In PA, Taco Bell is considered good Mexican food.) But now that we're in TX, by some pretty killer Mexican food (not to mention Mexico, itself) we still love it! And, a missionary in our ward from Mexico liked it too. So there! Chicken Tamale Casserole

A lot of the recipes I've been doing lately are from Cooking Light. I feel bad reproducing them on this blog, especially because they say right on them not to reproduce them. But... I don't think anyone at CL would object if I posted a link to the recipe on their site.

1. Bring 1/2 cup broth to a boil in a small pan. Remove from the heat and add the sun-dried tomatoes. Let the tomatoes stand until they are softened and have absorbed most of the liquid, about 15 minutes. Drain off and discard any excess liquid. Thinly slice the tomatoes.2. Cook the tortellini in a large pot of boiling water according to package directions. Drain well and transfer to a mixing bowl.3. In a small bowl, stir together the cilantro pesto, remaining 1/4 cup broth, vinegar, and chili powder.4. To serve, add the dressing, squash, bell pepper, and sun-dried tomatoes to the pasta and toss to coat. Sprinkle with the pine nuts. Let the salad stand for at least 15 minutes or refreigerate up to 2 hours before serving at room temperature.Nutrition Information: About 405 cals, 10g fat, 1g fiber.

1. Place the cilantro and parsley in the work bowl of a food processor. With the motor running, drop in the garlic cloves and process until all ingredients are finely chopped. Add the cheese and process about 5 seconds until well blended. With the motor running, pour in the broth and oil. Process, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl, until a thick, rough puree forms.2. Use the pesto immediately, refrigerate up to 2 days, or freeze up to 6 months.Nutrition Information: about 103 cals, 9g fat, 0g fiber

Melba's Note: We LOVE this salad! As Sammie said, it goes really well with his bistecca. The chili powder gives it a southwestern kick. We actually make it without the squash and bell peppers cuz we're finicky eaters and squash is, well... squash.The pesto is also really good for other things. We use it for mozzarella sandwiches - peasant bread, buffallo mozzarella, tomatoes, and this pesto. Yum!!The first time we made this meal--steak and pesto salad--we had been fasting all day and were HUNGRY! Everything's better seasoned with a hearty appetite, but this really is good!

Spread about 1 Tablespoon of brown sugar on one side of the steak. Use the back of a spoon to rub the sugar in. Sprinkle KC masterpiece Steak Seasoning onto the steak – don’t use too little or too much. Sprinkle Emeril’s Italian Essence on the steak. Turn steak over and repeat on other side. Let sit for 1-2 hours and grill on medium-low heat. Flip about every five minutes for 20 minutes or until done (I like medium rare).Sammie's Notes:• I’ve found that when I remove the steaks from the plate, the seasoning doesn’t stay on the side of the steak sitting on the plate. I place that side face-up on the grill and re-sprinkle both seasonings onto that side after putting them on the grill.• I’ve tried letting these steaks sit for long periods of time after seasoning them – I didn’t like the flavor as much. For guests, I start seasoning the steaks about 2 hours before we plan on eating and I never start cooking steaks until the guests are here. Steak is best right off the grill – I seat the guests just before the steaks are finished and put the steaks on their plates straight from the grill.• Extra special thanks to Elder Knudsen – a missionary from Arizona currently serving in State College – who taught me how to cut New York strip steaks from a cryovac and suggested I use brown sugar on the steaks. (Combining it with the other two seasonings was my idea…)• Melba and I like to eat these steaks with a cheese tortellini pesto salad. (see next entry)

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees. Slice bread rolls into 1-inch squares. Spread out into one layer on a baking sheet and bake in preheated 350 degree oven until slightly brown, about 5 minutes.Combine all other dry and wet ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in browned bread squares. Cover and refrigerate mixture for a minimum of 30 minutes or up to 4 hours. When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease two 6-ounce ramekins. Fill each ramekin halfway with bread pudding mixture, sprinkle ¼ of chopped topping chocolate in each ramekin. Fill each ramekin with remaining bread pudding mixture and top with remaining chopped chocolate. Place ramekins in a water bath and bake for 35 minutes at 325 degrees. Carefully remove hot ramekins from water bath and top each with a dollop of cool whip and serve warm. A mint sprig or berries are a nice additional garnish.

Donna's note: I think you could ax the Kahlua and maybe add a bit more vanilla and never really miss it.

Melba's note: Sammie has a group of close "MBA" friends that he frequently studies with or works with on projects. I sometimes remind him that "Donna's the best one out of all of you!" We've become good friends with her, her husband Todd, and their dog Samson (Phoebe's boyfriend). Donna, in addition to being smart and accomplished, is a fabulous cook! She sent on this recipe and I hope to get more from her. (hint... hint...) If you ever meet her, ask her how she got her boss arrested...

Melba's note: These are good! I made them for a Relief Society Birthday brunch and they were a huge hit! In fact, Dawn (RS fearless leader and woman extraordinaire) asked for the recipe so this one's for her!

Something Smells Good in Melba's Kitchen

I love it when I'm cooking dinner and Sammie says, "Something smells good in Melba's kitchen!" (It's even nicer when he's still smiling after the first bite.) I love to cook and try out new recipes. I'm hoping many of you will enjoy my favorite recipes and add lots of your own. Feel free to also add stories about when and where you made/found/used/mutilated the recipe. It'll be the next best thing to having you over for dinner...